Memories Are Made And Forgotten
by PinkRose0106
Summary: Frutescens (Frute) was unfortunate enough to experience near-death when he was two. His sibs all think he's dead. After fleeing to Freedom Island, he met Mylitta (Mye), and they became friends. Four years later, Frute goes back to Pyrrhia with Mye, only to find lies and horrors. With Mye helping him, can he forget his past and move on? Rated T for slight violence and stuff.
1. Cast Of Characters

These are all of the special appearances of my OCs, other user's OCs, and mentions of canon characters. The later chapters might have more of my own OCs. All of them are from the Wings Of Fire Fanon Wiki. PinkRose06 is my username on the FANDOM wikis.

Chapter 1: Savannah (Laceyrocks7), Snowplayer (Snow) (PuppyLuvr06)

Chapter 2: No special appearances

Chapter 3: OceanCurse (Ocean) (Ocean Curse), Nightskye (Skye) (SilverTheIcewingHybrid), Russet (first appearance; mentioned by name) (PinkRose06)

Chapter 4: Sahara (mentioned in the short story "Arriving at the Island"; the character nor short story has a page) (PinkRose06)

Chapter 5: No special appearances (mention of Oasis, Burn, Blister, and Blaze)

Chapter 6: No special appearance

Chapter 7: Vervain, Alterniflora (Flora), Russet (second appearance; will become more-or-less a main character from now on) (all belong to PinkRose06)

Chapter 8: No special appearances

Chapter 9: Spectrum (the animus whom Russet was talking about; mentioned as "an animus") (PinkRose06)

Chapter 10-11: No special appearances

Chapter 12: Rose Mallow and the SkyWing (both belong to PinkRose06)

Thank you everyone! Your contributions, even small, helped me write the story. It wouldn't be the same without you're OCs and help ^_^


	2. Chapter 1

Frute woke up in his room, which was bright and sunny. Sometimes that annoyed him, but today it made him sit up faster. Today Mye would be done her Metamorphosis. He would be able to see her again after school. Frute stood up and started preparing what little needed to be done, waving to Mye's parents as he walked to school.

Like normal, the main village of Freedom Island was full of activity. The school wasn't far from Mye's home. The same path that helped him four years ago led towards to the leader's decision tent, every home the town could fit, the school, the battle center, and the small tent for SilkWings going through their Metamorphosis. Frute, despite wanting to make sure Mye was all right, continued following the path to the school.

He was the third to arrive, the other two being Snow—a gray, white, and black IceWing-NightWing hybrid—and Savannah—a pale yellow SandWing, with sunspots scattered on her scales.

Frute smiled and waved to them. "Hey girls."

"Hello, Frute!" Snow replied. "Have you checked on Mylitta today?"

"I plan on going after school." Frute said.

"I'm honestly a little surprised you didn't skip school just to watch her break out of her cocoon." Savannah said. "It's obvious you have a crush on her."

Frute decided to ignore the second statement, despite blushing a little. "I've already missed a whole year's worth of schooling. The leaders would kick me off the island if I skipped another day." He tried to reply casually, while in truth he had debated skipping school the night before.

"I'm sure Mye's wings would be so pretty!" Snow said, probably trying to fill the silence that had fallen.

"I've read stories where SilkWings who went through Metamorphosis are even prettier than when they were before." Frute said. He smiled and started heading to his normal spot, in the middle of the front row. It was closest to where the teacher stood, and right beside Mye's normal spot. "Of course, to me, I'm pretty sure Mye couldn't get ay better."

"See? You just admitted to having a crush on her, and yet you deny it." Savannah said, earning a giggle from Snow. "I don't know what's wrong with you two, but everyone can just hope it'll be better after she gets her wings."

Frute just nodded. More students—mostly hybrids, but some were full-blooded—started to arrive, and Savannah and Snow took their seats. The teacher came in not long after the rest of the students, smiling in the way that Frute had grown to associate with most dragons on Freedom.

The teacher—a tall, burly LeafWing-SkyWing hybrid with scales that mimicked autumn's hues of red, yellow, orange, and green—walked to the front of the class. "Okay, everyone. Let's start with the role-call." He said. Everyone began stating their name, one-by-one, and the teacher nodded when the only few missing were the SilkWings, all of which were in cocoons. "Now, let's begin class, shall we?"

…

Class was dismissed hours later, and Frute immediately went to the Metamorphosis tent. One or two relatively rude classmates mocked him, but he ignored them.

No one was in the tent, besides the four cocooned dragonets. Frute paused at the entryway, mentally counting. There were supposed to be five. He wondered, briefly, if a dragonet had emerged or a cocoon was moved.

Frute got his answer when he walked farther into the tent, and saw the similar brown and red scales of his closest friend. Mye, Frute thought. He took a few moments to look at her wings. They were beautiful. He remembered looking at old drawings of her namesake, the mylitta crescent butterfly. Her wings mimicked that of what she was named after, adding some bright colors to her otherwise muted scales. Frute walked closer to her.

Mye looked up at him, and smiled. She slowly sat up, and looked back at her wings. Then, as if she remembered something, she looked back at Frute with her head tilted to the side. "Did you skip school just to see me?" She asked.

Frute couldn't help but laugh, something he did only when talking to Mye. "No, I sat through it. It's funny; Savannah and Snow were teasing me for the same reason." He replied. He slowly sat down, and let his talons gently trace over the patterns on Mye's wing left wing.

"Did you miss me?" Mye said.

"Of course I did."

"Do I need to punch anyone?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. You probably shouldn't be too reckless anyway."

Mye looked at him suspiciously. "I'm not reckless!" She protested. "I'm just trying to be a good friend."

"I know." Frute said. He looked at her, picturing her standing on a mountain somewhere, with her wings spread wide. He was able to picture himself beside her, and before he could stop it, his fantasy spiraled into a picture of Vervain ready to snap Mallow's neck just to be the bigwing. Frute flinched, and unconsciously pulled away from Mye.

This caused Mye to look a bit concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly.

"Y-yeah." Frute replied, without looking at her. "I'm fine. Let's go home—lunch should be ready."

Mye nodded and stood up. Frute reluctantly followed, trying to focus on the present rather than his past. He took two deep breaths, and focused on Mye's beautiful new wings.


	3. Chapter 2

The typical five minute walk home turned into a seventeen minute walk home. They stopped briefly for everyone who complimented and congratulated Mye's new wings. Frute noticed how she wasn't even fully paying attention to the dragons she was talking to. Her eyes never left his, which caused him to get a bit anxious.

When they finally arrived home, Mye's parents had already left for work. They didn't leave without laying out lunch, though, since two small bowls full of fruit sat on the table.

Mye was the first one to sit down and start eating. Frute followed, and began eating his own lunch.

…

When both of them finished, Mye stacked the bowls on top of each other, and stood up.

"Frute, I just had the best idea." Mye said. She looked at Frute with her always-gleaming purple eyes, smiling.

"What is it?" Frute asked.

"How about we go on an adventure?" Mye suggested. "Just the two of us. I can fly now, with my wings—moons, we could even leave the island! It'll be fun, I'm sure of it."

"Shouldn't we make sure it's okay first?"

"The greatest things happen without permission, Frute. And besides, it won't take us that long just to go on a treasure hunt or something."

"I guess…"

"Perfect! Come on, we can go to the library now!"

Mye started walking towards the door, but Frute was still trying to figure out of this was a good idea. "Shouldn't we wait a few days?" He said. "You technically don't know how to fly yet."

Mye looked over her shoulder at him, then said, "Well, can't you teach me? I'm usually a fast learner, so it shouldn't take long."

"I can't teach, though!" Frute protested. "I was taught, I didn't teach." He got a little quieter, then added, "I'm the youngest of four sibs, remember? The bigwings teaches, and I'm no where near close to being bigwings."

"Oh, stop worrying." Mye replied. "I just really want to do something. We won't know what's out there until we go."

I know what's out there, Frute thought. It's full of war, blood, death, and pain. It's not a world I ever want you to see.

Mye flicked her tail. "Well, I'm heading to the library for some treasure maps or something. You can come if you want. If not, please don't tell Mom and Dad, okay?" She said. "Or the leaders. Or our classmates."

"Mye, of course I'm going with you." Frute said. He stood up, and walked over to his friend. "For various reasons." Well, two reasons. One: no one else could calm him. Two: he couldn't just let her wander around Freedom—or worse, Pyrrhia or Pantala—all by herself.

Frute followed Mye outside of the house, and followed the path to the library.

The library was about as big as the school, which was probably as large as a typical house (Frute, despite having been born in Pyrrhia, never actually saw a house before, since most dragons in the Mud Kingdom lived in muddy caves or mounds). Despite this, though, both were large enough to suit the needs of the residents here. Frute saw a few two-year-olds heading to class, and a few adults entering and leaving the library.

Frute and Mye were greeted by the librarian, a kind RainWing who was typically the colors of dawn.

"What are you looking for today?" The RainWing asked. His scales shifted to a bright yellow—probably due to the fact that not a lot of dragonets came to the library, mostly adults who lived here.

"Do you have any treasure maps, or atlases?" Mye said.

The librarian nodded, and said, "There are some other there, by the history, but they're a little outdated. If you want recent ones, you'll have to look through the 'New Additions' section." He gestured to a sheet of paper beside him. "Would you like to sign this petition for more books? We only need one more signature, and then we can present it to the leaders!"

Frute knew that at least one of the leaders was in this library, and that they probably all approve. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a petition at all. It was mostly for residents to have an input, from what Frute had observed. He turned his head to look at Mye, but the brown-and-red SilkWing had already gone to search for books. Frute looked back at the librarian, and shook his head. "Sorry, but maybe next time?" He said.

The librarian visibly deflated, blue-grays seeping through his scales. It made Frute feel guilty, but it also reminded him of Mallow's scales, which also changed with emotion, but could only change into browns. Frute had learned what colors meant what quickly, and when he came to Freedom he used that knowledge to read a normal RainWing's scales.

Frute shook his head to clear it, then went to find Mye.


	4. Chapter 3

Frute found Mye in the section with the new additions, talking to two other dragons. He remembered seeing them. One was a black NightWing-SkyWing hybrid—Skye—and the other was a dark blue NightWing-SeaWing hybrid—Ocean. Mye seemed to have gotten distracted from the two talking to her. Frute walked up to the three girls.

"Seriously, though, you're wings look awesome!" Ocean said. She was facing Mye, and it didn't seem like she had noticed Frute yet.

"Thanks." Mye replied. She looked over, and her face lit up when she saw Frute. "Okay, I'm sorry, but I really need to continue searching."

Skye followed Mye's gaze, and when she looked at Frute, nodded. "Hello, Frute. How's your schoolwork going?" She asked.

"It's fine." Frute said. He walked closer to the bookshelf, and looked over at Mye. "You can continue talking, if you'd like. I can find it."

Mye nodded, and flicking her tail she gestured for the other two to follow her to another section of the library. Frute wasn't sure if that was so then he could concentrate, or so then they didn't realize what they were going to do. Either way, it didn't take Frute long to find a book he wanted; it was titled Maps Of Freedom Island, Pyrrhia, and Pantala. He flipped through the silk pages, and even saw a map or two that he recognized. He didn't let himself pause for the map of the Mud Kingdom—if he did, he might just get upset again. Once he was satisfied, he walked back over to Mye, Ocean, and Skye, who were now by the library entrance, and had changed the conversation topic to something school related.

Frute walked up to Mye and tapped her shoulder to get her attention. "All I need to do is check out and then we're ready to go." He said.

"What are you doing anyway?" Skye asked.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Are you going on a date?" Ocean said. "Please tell me you're going on a date." Both Frute and Mye blushed at this, but Mye was the one who shook her head.

"No, we're not going on a date." Mye replied. "I was going to help Frute with his schoolwork, so then he could catch up a little."

"That could still be a date, though." Ocean pointed out.

Mye just sighed, flicking her tail. Frute took that as a sign to check out the book, and he did so.

…

After Frute had checked out the book, him and Mye went back home to gather supplies.

"When will we be leaving?" Frute asked her as he put some fruit in a bag.

"As soon as possible." Mye replied.

"We won't…actually go to Pyrrhia, will we?" Frute said.

"We need to experience more things than this island." Mye retorted stubbornly.

"But I have experienced more things than this island." Frute protested. I don't think you can survive in Pyrrhia, Frute wanted to say. Not even my sibs would keep you alive. Not Mallow. Not Flora. And definitely not Vervain.

Mye looked at Frute, and her eyes were unreadable. "I know you want to go back. I know you miss your siblings. I want to help you. We don't need to go to Pyrrhia; but if you want to let go and live normally, we might have to." She said. She gently sat aside the book they had got from the library. She walked over to Frute, and twined her tail with his. "Frute…I'm trying to help you. I want to help you. There are so many things I know you can never do again, but forgiving and forgetting isn't one of those. I believe that, if we went to Pyrrhia, you can forget."

"I understand." Frute replied after a few moments. He managed to brush his wing with hers. It was times like this when he questioned why neither of them admitted their love for each other. Sure, they were both six, but he's seen some dragons who were together since they were four.

The thought brought back one of the rare good memories that Frute still remembered.

…

Frute, Mallow, Flora, and Vervain had just finished battle training. They were only one, but already knew so much about the war. Vervain was a little friendlier then, but looking back on it Frute realized that there was a steady decline in politeness.

Frute was laying on top of Mallow, and the sun was bright and warm.

"If you had to chose any of these old smoke-breathers for a mate, who would it be?" Flora asked, ever the romantic.

"None." Mallow replied. "I would die before I marry and of these idiots. I love you all, but I am not having dragonets."

"I would chose…her!" Frute said, randomly pointing to a tall, dull-brown MudWing dragoness. "She looks pretty."

"Her?" Vervain asked. "Come on, Frute. Besides, I think she already has a mate."

Flora stood up from her spot and looked at the dragoness. "Oh, that's Russet. She's been hooked since she was two."

"How can anyone deal with someone for that long?" Mallow said. "Moons, sometimes I can't even deal with you three."

Frute rolled over so then he could look at Flora. "How did you know that?" He asked. "Are we secretly NightWings, too?"

"Nope." Flora said. "I think we'd be dead if we were tribrids. I've just talked to her before."

"You've talked to everyone who has a mate." Vervain pointed out.

"I've talked to everyone in general!" Frute said, standing up. He tried to jump while spinning, but instead he landed right on top of Mallow's head.

"OW." His bigwings said.

"Sorry!" Frute replied. "But on the bright side, you're head is very soft and cushiony."

"Thanks." Mallow said. "…I guess."


	5. Chapter 4

Frute must've fallen asleep during his reverie, because when he opened his eyes again the sun had set. He silently cursed at himself, and stood up. Wandering around the house, he found Mye in her room, flapping her orange and yellow wings. She looked at him.

"I fell asleep, didn't I?" Frute asked her.

"Yes. I was a little worried for a bit." Mye replied. She looked out the window. "Well, do you want to leave now or wait until tomorrow?"

"We can leave now, if we have everything." Frute said.

Mye nodded. "Yep. I have everything packed and evenly divided between the two of us." She walked over to her bed and reached underneath it, pulling out five average-sized bags (well, they were more like large pouches). She handed Frute two of them, and strapped the rest onto her neck and forelegs.

"I thought you said it was divided evenly between the two of us." Frute said.

"Yes, yes, I know. I mean ration-wise. There's no way I'm making you carry three bags that are moderately heavy." Mye replied casually, flicking her tail. "Come on; Mom and Dad might be home soon." Frute nodded, and stepped out of the way for Mye to lead. While she did give him a questioning look, he tried to ignore it.

The two dragonets walked out of the house and through the village. By now, the path was mostly clear, besides the adults walking their young dragonets home or dragons coming to and from the leader's tent.

…

Due to Freedom's relatively small size, it only took them two hours to follow the path to the southern village. By now, the sun had set, and flamesilks, SkyWings, and SandWings could be seen happily lighting the lanterns, talking amongst themselves. Frute didn't know much dragons from this side of the island—apart from Sahara, the village leader. She had helped him when he first came, and he was hoping she could help him again.

Frute found the friendly SandWing not very far from the village entrance. Sahara smiled sweetly when she saw him.

"Frute. Have you been doing well?" She said.

"Yes, ma'am." Frute replied. "I was hoping you could lead us to a boat?"

Sahara looked over at Mye, then back at Frute. "There's a dock not far from here, on the beach." She explained. "There's a SeaWing willing to ferry dragons around the island, but I think he's closing up soon. Of course, there are boats for anyone to use under the normal rules—no reselling, no stealing, and make sure no one else is using it."

"Thank you." Frute said, nodding. Sahara just smiled again in return, and went about her own nightly business. Frute looked to Mye, who had been standing beside him. "Let's go." She nodded.

Frute started to walk to the dock, waving to the few dragons he knew. Like Sahara said, the dock wasn't that far from the village entrance. He would have to figure out how to repay her later.

Once they were at the dock, it was easy to find a boat that could fit two. Most of them were made for only two dragons, but there were some with enough room for five. Frute decided on the least fancy one—it was a simple wood brown, with a faded blue design on it. He guess it used to belong to one of the village leaders.

"How do we know if it's being used?" Mye asked.

"I think there's usually a flag." Frute said, gently poking the boat to see how well it could hold up. "And not a lot of people row their own boats. Most take a ferry."

"I wish there was a boat to Pyrrhia." Mye mused. "Then we wouldn't have to navigate by ourselves."

Inwardly, Frute agreed. But he also knew that they would be questioned if they did go to a boat leading straight to Pyrrhia. It was highly discouraged to go back to Pyrrhia, especially with the war. Freedom was a refuge for the helpless—if dragons went and boasted about it now, the war could spread to Freedom as well.

Frute sighed, and slowly got in the boat. It creaked as he did so, but didn't break. He gestured for Mye to join him, and she did.

Both Mye and Frute were smaller than average, so they fit into the boat—which was made for two grown ups—with room to spare. They sat facing each other.

"I'll start rowing; try to get some rest, okay?" Frute said. "We can switch when I get tired." Mye nodded, and curled up in a sort of ball. It was obvious she wasn't used to her new wings yet, so Frute tried to be as silent as he could when he took the paddles beside him and began rowing to his old home.


	6. Chapter 5

(Beware possibly incorrect information; I don't have the books right in front of me.)

About an hour later, Frute started to get a bit tired, so he stopped rowing and gently nudged Mye awake. She mumbled at first, then sat up.

"Time to switch?" She asked. Frute just nodded, and handed her the oars. Luckily, there were notches on both sides for the oars to go in.

Frute sat back down again and starting to try to get comfy, but before he closed his eyes Mye gently said, "While we still have time to turn back…what's Pyrrhia like?" Frute looked at her. She seemed genuinely curious. Frute sighed.

"Okay, here's all I can tell you: Once upon a time, about twenty years ago, a SandWing queen named Oasis ruled the Kingdom of Sand." Frute began. "I don't know a lot about her reign, but she had three daughters—Burn, Blister, and Blaze. Burn was the oldest, strongest, deadliest. Blister was the middle daughter, smart, conniving. Blaze was the youngest, naïve, beautiful—to most. One day, Oasis was killed by scavengers. After her daughters found out, they fought about who would become queen.

"They didn't keep their fight to themselves, though—they took two years to ally themselves with the tribes of Pyrrhia. Burn became allies with SkyWings and MudWings. Blister chose SeaWings. Blaze took IceWings and most of the SandWings. Soon, every tribe but the RainWings—who were too lazy—and NightWings—who haven't been seen in years—were fighting each other, just for a stupid throne. And thus the Great War began.

"For eighteen years, the war has been killing innocent dragons. Possibly thousands of innocent dragons. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters—every dragon of every tribe is going to die is a stupid war for a stupid title. The only thing that keeps dragons fighting is a special prophecy. One that predicted the end of the war, once and for all." Frute ended his explanation with a heavy sigh. It was painful to recite everything he knew, and with every word came a different memory of when he was in Pyrrhia. Frute looked at Mye, who seemed to be thinking about something. "And if I'm going to be honest, I hoped that you would never see it."

Mye looked up at him. "I'm sorry." She said. "It must've been hard living there. But we can turn back, if you want. We're still close to home."

"No." Frute replied. His answer seemed to startle Mye a little. "I…I think I want to go back. Just for a little bit. If you want to stay, I'm sure there's room in the rainforest. I've never been there, but my father was a RainWing. He might've had friends."

"Might've had?" Mye echoed quietly. "Was? If you don't mind me asking…what happened?"

Frute looked up at the night sky and thought for a moment. He had never met his father, but he had seen him with Flora sometimes. "My father is dead. Killed by my aunt shortly after my mother died. And my mother was killed in a battle." He said. "Both of them died a few months before I left. The war took all three of us."

"No it didn't." Mye replied. This time, Frute was a little surprised by her statement, until she continued. "You're still alive. You're still here. You might be dead inside, but your body and soul are still here." She punched his shoulder lightly. "And you better not die on me, or else I'm going to find a necromancer to bring you back to life just so then I can kill you again!"

"Same here." Frute said. He found himself smiling. Mye always seemed to be able to turn a dark conversation into a bright one. He enjoyed that.

"Hey, maybe this is actually working!" Mye said. "Maybe going to Pyrrhia was the right choice. You're even smiling!" She picked up the oars and started rowing again, having stopped during their conversation. "Could you tell me the war-ending prophecy? If it's not too much trouble?"

Frute nodded, and began reciting the one thing that made him believe his sibs were still alive.

"When the war has lasted twenty years…

The dragonets will come.

When the land is soaked in blood and tears…

The dragonets will come.

Find the SeaWing egg of deepest blue.

The wings of night shall come to you.

The largest egg in mountain high

Will give you the wings of sky.

For wings of earth, search through the mud

For an egg the color of dragon blood.

And hidden alone from the rival queens,

The SandWing egg awaits unseen.

Of three queens who blister and blaze and burn,

Two shall die and one shall learn

If she bows to a fate that's stronger and higher,

She'll have the power of wings of fire.

Five eggs to hatch on the brightest night,

Five dragonets born to end the fight.

Darkness will rise and bring the light.

The dragonets are coming…"

Frute remembered when Mallow drilled the prophecy into him and his sibs' heads, to remind them that the war will end soon. There may still be two more years, but Frute knew there were some dragons who were counting the days until the war ended.


	7. Chapter 6

It took Frute and Mye a few weeks until they could see Pyrrhia in the distance. It took another few days until they actually reached the dragon-shaped continent, Frute being sure that they landed near the border of the Rainforest and Mud Kingdoms.

As the neared land, Frute drilled basic safety rules to Mye, who had already learned mostly everything she needed to know about Pyrrhia. Frute was impressed, mostly at himself for being able to teach her.

Frute stopped the boat when the water grew too shallow for it, and got out to drag it the rest of the way to shore. Mye got out to help him, making the job much easier. Once they got there, the two dragonets sat on the ground.

Frute sat there until the sun set. Neither of them had said anything since arriving. Frute decided to change that by saying, "We finally made it. It took weeks, but we made it." He looked over at Mye, who seemed to be thinking of everything they should be doing. "How long do you want to stay? No longer than a month—your parents might get worried."

"I'm not sure." Mye replied. "I want to see every inch of this place, but that might take years, and there's no guarantee that we'd ever leave, if the war gets too bloody."

"We could come back." Frute suggested. "When we're adults. That way, no one will worry about us. And the war will be over." Mye seemed to agree, since she nodded. Frute didn't completely believe that she was listening, though. He stood up, and looked at the rainforest. "Come on, we can sleep closer to the rainforest. If a RainWing sees us, they're less likely to question us, I'm sure."

"You don't sound very confident." Mye pointed out.

"It's because I'm not." Frute replied honestly. "But I am confident that we can't stay in the Mud Kingdom. There's less danger in the rainforest—less danger of starving, less danger of being caught, less danger of being killed." Less danger of my sibs seeing me, Frute's mind added.

"Rainforest it is, then." Mye said. She got up, only to sit down a few steps later where the rainforest and Mud Kingdom met. Frute managed to laugh a little, and sat down beside her. The trees were thick enough here that they wouldn't be seen from above, and no one came this close to the border or ocean.

Frute took off his small bags, and watched as Mye did the same. They sat them in between them, and ate a little bit of the food. After that, Frute closed his eyes and managed to drift into a dreamless sleep.

…

For a second, when Frute opened his eyes, he thought he was two again, with no one to hide from, nothing to care about besides how he'll spend his day. But when he opened his eyes, he was alone. The sun was up, the birds chirped, but no one was beside him.

At first, Frute thought this was normal. His still-mostly-asleep brain didn't recognize that he had come with someone else until minutes later. Frute instantly stood up again.

"Mye!" He shouted. He looked beside him, but the dull brown-and-red SilkWing wasn't there. His mind instantly assumed the worst. She must've wandered off, he thought. Or someone found her. I knew she shouldn't have come here. Pyrrhia isn't the place for SilkWings. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Frute tried to calm himself down, but failed. Miserably. He looked around him. "She has to be around here somewhere." He told himself. "She still can't fly, and it's harder to get around by walking."

Frute tried to think of where he could look. A picture—memory—flashed in his head. "No," he muttered. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO." He hit himself, the brief memory getting clearer. Frute knew where the memory had been made. Deeper into the Mud Kingdom—closer to his old home.

There were many things Frute knew he would never be able to do again—anything that requires a quickly beating heart, living by himself, flying far distances, battling. Never seeing his sibs again were among those. Unless Frute was lucky enough for them to be in the middle of a battle—or an adventure around Pyrrhia—he was pretty sure he would have to at least look at them.

Frute sighed. If he wanted to find Mye, a classic ask-around search would probably be the best option. He sat back down again, and latched the small bags back on him, trying to think of a solution to his major problems—not being recognized and keeping his dark memories under control.


	8. Chapter 7

(Lots of mentions of blood. Beware.)

Frute watched the dragons around him. He had thought of a plan—he wasn't sure if it would work, though. He sighed. He tried to find a MudWing who didn't already seem pre-occupied, but his eyes kept on straying to the distant mud mound in one direction, and two dragonets trying to ignore each other in the opposite direction. Mallow's home and Vervain and Flora, respectively. He was already close enough to his older brother and sister that they would've noticed him by now.

Here goes nothing, Frute thought. Please say they know where Mye went…

Frute unwillingly started walking towards his sibs. No MudWing payed him much attention—if Frute had to guess, he looked like a normal RainWing. The only thing that would set them off that thought were the faint scars on his body, marking the battle that nearly killed him. He tried not to think about it.

Flora was the first to notice him. She looked at him oddly at first, like she recognized him, but then shook her head as if denying it. Frute sighed with relief, although he knew he shouldn't celebrate until he found Mye again.

"What's a RainWing doing around here?" Flora asked. Vervain seemingly perked up when he heard 'RainWing', and he looked over at Frute. His gaze was almost oppressing. Frute couldn't help but shrink back a little bit.

"I came to look for a friend." Frute explained. "I, uh, think she might have been kidnapped."

Vervain barked a laugh for a second. "Ha! Who would want to kidnap a RainWing? They're useless!" He said.

Flora looked like she wanted to object, but didn't say anything. She looked back at Frute. "What does your friend look like? I might've seen them."

"She's not much taller than me." Frute replied. "She might actually be a bit shorter. She has muted brown-and-red scales, and her wings are orange, yellow, and dark brown."

"What RainWing has three wing colors?" Vervain asked. He looked over at a nearby rabbit, and with one swift movement, he snapped it's neck. Frute winced, but tried not to show it.

"She, uh, painted them." Frute lied. "To look like a mylitta crescent butterfly's." He looked at both of his older siblings. "Have either of you seen her?"

Flora thought for a few seconds. "I did see something bright orange move around last night." She said. "And when I went to see her, Russet had left."

"Wait, you were visiting Russet this morning?" Vervain asked. He seemed angry, and Frute didn't doubt that he was. "Since when do you visit dragons you barely know?"

"Since you started sleeping in, you lazy RainWing." Flora retorted. Frute winced, once again, but this time at the insult. He didn't want to, but he had to leave the two. Usually when someone says "lazy" and "RainWing" in the same sentence to Vervain, he attacks them. Frute didn't want to see his sibs fight, but there wasn't anything he could do, either.

So Frute just sighed, and started asking around for Russet.

It must've been the same Russet that Flora had mentioned when they were one. He ran into one of her sibs quickly, who told him that she had left the night before and hasn't come back. After asking around a bit—and using some of his own logic—he found out that Russet was most likely heading towards the mountains.

Frute, at first, walked. Then to save time, he switched between flying and walking.

…

Luckily for Frute, he found Russet just as the sun set. He didn't see Mye, though. When Russet saw him, she seemed to mutter something, but it wasn't audible. Frute walked up to Russet, prepared to once again describe was Mye looked like. He opened his mouth to begin speaking, but Russet cut him off.

"So you're Frutescens?" She said.

Frute froze when he heard his name. Not only would no one know who he is—much less someone he's only seen once or twice in his whole life—but it was his full name. No one called him Frutescens. No one. The name was full of memories best left forgotten. Frute sat down in an attempt to prevent them from coming. They came, anyway…memories of bloody battles, fighting sibs, death, and war. He could only sit and watch them play.

…

Frute looked at Vervain, who's talons were dipped and stained with blood. "Go die in the war like everyone else!" Frute shouted. A dragon in the background winced at the insult, but Frute didn't care. He ran off, back to his home, but when he looked down, there was blood on his talons. When he looked behind him, he saw that he had left faint and bloody talon marks in the mud and marshes. He stood there, and cried. And he cried until no more tears would flow. And when he stopped crying, he clawed at anything around him, even scratching other dragons. Possibly even Vervain and Flora. It wouldn't hurt, though—Frute's talons had always been dull.

…

"Your mother and father are dead. Your mother was killed in a battle. Your father was killed by your aunt, when she realized you were hybrids. Don't worry, though; you four won't be killed. Not like that." It was Russet. Frute remembered how she said it. Her voice was full of pain, sorrow, grief—she must've been good friends with the hybrid troop's mother.

…

Frute stood face-to-face with a dragon. He could never remember what tribe they were from—the whole memory was blurry. He could feel the blood dripping onto the ground. He could tell he was dying. He wished it would just get done already. The pain was so horrible that Frute barely remembered it, mainly at his neck, left wing, and right foreleg. His whole body was covered in blood. As he dropped down to the ground, supposedly dead, he heard four voices shout his name. Three of them shouted "Frute". All of them were far away, and belonged to his sibs. The other one was quieter, but closer. That voice said "Frutescens". The fourth and unknown voice came up and started fighting the dragon who struck down Frute. He wanted to help, but he couldn't. He couldn't move. He was still bleeding. He was still dying. His breathing stopped for only a few seconds, but he stopped caring.


	9. Chapter 8

"What in the moons…what are you doing?"

A voice made Frute snap out of his horrible memories. It took him a few seconds to remember where he was. In front of him, Russet looked more curious than concerned.

Frute looked up at her. She was about three times his size. "How do you know my name?" He asked quietly. His mind wandered new questions about Russet. It kept him from going back into his dark thoughts and memories.

"Slate told me." Russet explained. She looked around as if she was hiding something nearby, but Frute didn't think much of it. "I'm her sister, her bigwings." She looked at Frute. "Wait, do you even know who Slate is?"

Frute tried to think. "I've heard the name once." He replied. "Before now. I just can't remember when." He tried to think some more, but the name wasn't attached to anything. It was just a name, floating around his head as useless knowledge.

"In short," Russet began. "Slate was your mother. I'm your aunt. You're no-good father was Bonsai. And before you say anything, it was mine and Slate's other sister who killed Bonsai."

"So…how did you know me?" Frute asked. "I was told that my mother was like every other MudWing and left us to fend for ourselves. She would've named us, then shoved us away again. And thus we were just another troop, living by ourselves and forced to fight."

"I'm not sure why you're asking." Russet replied. "I doubt you'd believe me. But your mother did want to raise you. It was your father's fault that she didn't. And as you know, they both died."

"How do you know I'm not dead?"

"I saw the whole thing. I didn't bother going after you. I knew you'd come back, though. You loved your sibs too much."

"I didn't just 'come back'. I came back with a friend. Have you seen her?"

"What does she look like?"

"She has brown-and-red scales, about my height, with yellow, orange, and dark brown wings."

Russet seemed to think for a few moments, then shook her head. "I haven't seen her." She said. "I'm heading over to the Scorpion Den to sell something, would you like to come along?"

"I guess." Frute replied. It's better than being alone, he thought. Maybe I'll find Mye on the way. Please say she's okay…

"All right, then." Russet said. She pointed over to a cave, not that far away. "How about we rest for the night, then leave in the morning?"

Frute nodded. "That's fine."

Russet led the way to the cave, and Frute followed.

(Sorry for the short chapter; I don't want it to be full of useless knowledge.)


	10. Chapter 9

(Beware a possibly sucky chapter—I don't feel very motivated right now.)

Frute, once again, woke up with no one beside him. He must've slept later than he normally did—the sun was almost at it's highest. He got up, and tried to think of where Russet might've went. She said she was going to the Scorpion Den, Frute thought. Maybe she left without me because she realized I was useless. I'll have to ask when I find her—she couldn't have gone far.

He left the cave, once again alone. There were sounds of insects and birds, but Frute barely noticed. He was more drawn by a dragon shouting in the distance. It was coming from someplace farther away, but it was still audible. At first, Frute could barely make out a word. He started getting closer, and some of the words were easier to make out than others. He realized who the voices belonged to—Russet and Mye. Frute started running towards the voices, and by the time he reached them, he was out of breath and a little light-headed.

Mye was the first to look at him. "Frute!" She said. There was a banging sound. Frute had to look up to realize that Mye was in a reasonably horribly-made cage, but it was enough to hold the small SilkWing. When Frute looked at Russet, her face looked torn between one thing or the other.

"She's your friend you were looking for?" Russet asked. She stared at Mye. "There were tons of dragons who could've matched that description. I honestly thought you meant a MudWing or a RainWing, not this ButterflyWing."

"SilkWing." Mye corrected her, in a matter-of-fact tone.

Frute looked at Russet. "Why is Mye in a cage?"

"My troop has been stuck fighting battles that go no where. I'm their bigwings; I know what's best for them. Don't take it the wrong way; when I saw your friend, I knew I'd be able to do what I promised." Russet explained. "No one's ever seen a dragon like your friend before."

"She has a name." Frute replied. "It's Mye. I'd prefer if you used it." In her cage, Mye seemed to agree. Russet, however, just looked annoyed.

"Listen. You're smart enough. Just let me sell her, then you can take her back." Russet said. "I'm sure one of your sibs has enough to buy her back. Probably Rose Mallow, out of any of them."

"You're not going to sell Mye." Frute said. He walked closer to the cage, to find a door or a lock or something.

Mye shook her head, and Frute looked up at her. "Trust me, I've tried—there's no lock on this thing. At all." She said.

"How did you get in, though?" Frute asked.

"I got an animus to enchant it for me." Russet replied, despite the question not being directed towards her. "It was free, so I took the deal. It'll change into anything I want, and it makes transportation so much easier. Honestly, if that dragon hadn't come by when she did, I would've gave up instantly." She looked over at Frute. "So, are you going to be stubborn and demand I release your friend, or are you going to cooperate and just follow me until I've already sold her?"

"You are not selling Mye." Frute repeated. "I don't care why you're doing it. We're all dragons."

Russet walked over to Frute. "Okay, then. But you asked for it." She looked at Mye—no, the cage—and said, "Turn into a easy-to-fly-with wagon that can carry two dragons, and shove this hybrid in there with the SilkWing."

Frute blinked once, then he was inside some sort of long, narrow room. He heard clicks, and realized that somehow they were in the air. There was a single window, showing the land that they have just left. Mye went over to him. When he looked at her, several things were written on her face. Annoyance. Worry. A little bit of guilt. Relief. The list could go on forever.

"Why am I surprised you came?" She asked. "I thought you would've gone back home, either to find help or to just leave."

"I would never leave you here in Pyrrhia, supposedly kidnapped." Frute replied.

"I am a little flattered, though." Mye managed to laugh a little. "At least I'm pretty enough to kidnap. Even if it is to sell later and probably die."

"Well, never get kidnapped again. You made me worried."

"If I do, I'll try to remember that you will come for me. It'll just take you a few days."

"Hey, I had to ask around just to find one dragon. And you know who I talked to first? Vervain and Flora."

"Your old sibs?"

"The one and only. I'm going to be honest—I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't see Mallow, either."

Mye looked at Frute. "Well, maybe next time." She smiled sweetly at him, and he smiled back, happy to have found her.


	11. Chapter 10

The next few days were filled with on-and-off flying. Frute could hear Russet muttering about something, but he barely paid attention.

Mye was thinking up escape plans. There wasn't much options. Frute was honestly considering starving to death being the best one.

It was probably around midnight when Frute was woken up by the wagon landing. He wasn't very surprised when Russet opened up the single door. He was surprised, though, at her face, which seemed to hold every emotion imaginable.

Russet sighed deeply. She stepped into the wagon, and lit a hanging candle for light. She closed the door behind her. "I can't do this." She muttered.

Mye perked up a little. She must've never went to sleep. "So you're letting us go?"

"No." Russet's reply was firm and quick. "I'm not letting either of you go. At least, not you." She cast a look at Mye, who gave a mock face back. Russet didn't seem to be affected by it.

"What can you not do, then?" Frute asked.

"I can't lie to you." Russet replied. Mye muttered something under her breath, but was silenced when Frute gently whacked her with his tail. "I can't take it anymore. I decided I'd tell you the truth—all of it. Or at least most of it."

"Go ahead, then." Frute said. He sat up into a more comfortable position, and looked at his aunt. Mye moved so then she was closer to him, to calm him down if need be. He took a deep breath, but he wasn't sure why. I've only been told what Mallow knew, he thought. And Mallow knew what we were taught. And we were taught the wrong things at the wrong time.

Russet began faster than he expected. Her size left the two dragonets somewhat squished, but Frute didn't particularly mind. "I'll start from the beginning. The very beginning." She said. "If you fall asleep, I'll nudge you when it gets important." There was a short pause. "Me and my troop were just normal MudWings. It was all fine. I noticed Slate sneaking out, so I followed her. I caught her talking to a RainWing. She introduced me to him. His name was Bonsai.

"A little bit after that, I wanted to tell Slate to stay with me. With us. Her sibs. I guess her and Bonsai had known each other for at least a few months before then, because he came to make his own suggestion. He wanted Slate to come with him, in the rainforest. I might be skipping a little. I'm not the best dragon to go to for details."

"What did she chose?" Frute asked quietly. He knew he probably knew the answer, but he found himself asking anyway.

"Neither." Russet snapped. "She purposely avoided answering my question. Years later—and yes I know this is a huge time skip—when you and your sibs were two, she decided she couldn't decide." The pause and her hesitance gave Frute time to piece together the information. He couldn't say he liked the picture. Russet continued with her face away from the dragonets. "Of course, Slate was never good at decisions. She told me she was leaving forever. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I got worried. Apparently, so did your moon-forsaken father. We searched together for a bit, and then we found her. Slate was fighting a SeaWing, and she wasn't even trying. She died, just like that. I didn't see Bonsai until…it had to be a few weeks after that. I couldn't help it. I—when Slate died, she told me to watch over you and your sibs.

"Before you say anything, I was told to watch, not protect. Sib problems must be inherited. Anyway, when I saw Bonsai…I couldn't help myself. I was mad, and mourning, and he was the root of the problem. I killed him, and I don't regret it." Russet stood up—or at least as much as she could—and opened up the door again. "I'll let you rest and think about it. In the morning I'll come back to check on you." She didn't give Frute to respond, leaving him and Mye alone again.


	12. Chapter 11

Frute wasn't sure what was harder to think about. His sibs fighting, or the idea that at least half of his problems stemmed from Russet. Another quarter was caused by his parents, while the remaining bit was caused by his sibs.

The morning came faster than he thought it would. Mye had fallen asleep, and from the looks of it, she wasn't planning on getting up any time soon. Frute would have to do this himself, then.

The door opened again, although this time Russet didn't step inside. She just stood by the doorway, blocking the only way to get out.

"So?" She said. "Have you thought of anything?"

"I realized that if you didn't watch over Mother, I would be happy with my sibs. Moons, maybe Mallow would still be bigwings, too."

"But you wouldn't have met your butterfly-winged friend."

"You did more harm than good. I understand why you did it, but I don't get how you wanted to do it. You presented Mother with a question she couldn't answer. Then you killed Father for simply being there. I know you're the bigwings and you have to watch out for your sibs, but killing their mate, even from a different tribe, is a little bit too far."

Russet just looked at him. Frute shuffled uncomfortably at the pressure of her glare. "Do you think I wanted to kill your father?"

"It sounds like it, yes." Frute replied. "You didn't sound particularly mournful when you mentioned killing him."

"Look, I was trying to protect my troop." Russet protested.

"By killing the dragon who your sister loved?" Frute asked. "That sounds more like torturing than protecting."

"Slate was already dead."

"How about I put it this way: Would you have killed Father if Mother was still alive? Do you think she would approve of your choice to end his life? I would rather have a RainWing father that I barely knew, than the MudWing aunt that killed him."

"You're being unreasonable. You stopped stating the facts and started stating your own biased opinions."

"You wanted my thoughts. Your's are just as biased as mine. You think you did the right thing—whereas I feel like so much could've just been a little brighter if you had just…stayed put."

Frute wasn't sure why he was on the verge on tears. From the sound of it, Russet was faring no better. Frute shuffled a little closer to Mye, to lean on her for encouragement. He was doing well so far. Memories of his sibs were replaced by fantasies of what it could've been like without Russet messing everything up. She had a point—Frute wouldn't have met Mye if it weren't for the MudWing. But if he had to choose, which one would he pick? A close friend, or peace within his troop? He didn't really want to think of it too much.

Russet let out a deep sigh. "Do you have anything else to say?" She asked.

"…No, I think I've spoken enough." Frute replied. He watched as his aunt stepped out of the way. He expected to be cloaked in darkness again, but Russet didn't shut the door. "What are you doing?" Frute asked.

"Giving you and your friend an opportunity to escape." Russet replied briefly. "You better take it before I change my mind."

Frute stood up and nudged Mye. "What is it?" Mye asked quietly.

"Come on, Russet's letting us go." Frute said.

Mye sat up and blinked. Her talons twitched when she saw the open door. She looked from the doorway to Frute, excitement in her eyes. "Come on, let's go!" She said. She ran towards the door. Frute followed her as fast as he dared.


	13. Chapter 12

Frute followed Mye back towards the Mud Kingdom. They didn't stop, and they were able to almost reach the point where they came from within a few days. Frute wanted to see someone before he left, though, so he took the lead after they passed the last of the mounds.

He turned around and retraced his steps from that day. The sun was bright, contrary to the cloudy day it had been four years ago.

"This isn't the way to the shore." Mye pointed out.

"I know." Frute replied. "I just want to see someone before we go back to Freedom."

"Your sibs?"

"Yeah. Specifically Mallow."

Frute continued to lead them into a clearing. He could faintly see dragons standing around it, and his older sibs fighting each other. It didn't bother him as much as he expected it would, though. He wasn't that far from Mallow's mound.

The mud mound that Mallow called home was tucked in the corner of the clearing. The sun had set, but there was enough light to see. Frute looked back at Mye. "Make sure you're out of sight; even though it's night now, someone might still see you."

The SilkWing nodded, and walked to the other side of him. She tucked her wings in the best she could.

Frute walked closer to the mound. Two figures were sitting in it. One was large and brown. The other was much smaller—smaller than Frute—with red and orange scales. Frute was confident the bigger one was Mallow, almost perfectly MudWing besides her slightly changing scales. He wasn't sure who the other one was, other than a SkyWing. Mallow's wing almost acted as a blanket for the small SkyWing. He wondered, briefly, why he couldn't see the SkyWing's wings.

"Is that your sister?" Mye asked.

"The one and only Rose Mallow." Frute said. He tried to stay quiet so then he didn't wake them up.

"She barely even looks like a hybrid."

"It got more obvious the younger the sib."

"I guess that makes sense."

Mye walked out from beside Frute, and got a little closer to Mallow. "It doesn't bother you? Being here with your sister?"

"Not as much as it used to." Frute said.

"So I didn't ruin anything by coming to Pyrrhia?" Mye asked. She looked back at him.

"Why would you?"

"You had gotten so upset over mere mention of blood. You've had nightmares were you and your sibs all died. I thought that maybe coming to Pyrrhia could help, but I knew it might just make it worse. But you seem fine now."

Frute could tell she was upset. He just wasn't sure about what. "Where are you getting at?"

"Maybe you should stay. Maybe it's Freedom, not Pyrrhia." Mye said.

"I won't let you leave by yourself." Frute replied. "If I have trouble again, so be it."

"But wouldn't it be my fault then? If you left and just got worse?"

"I wouldn't be your fault, Mye. I know who to blame. And even then, blame just causes hate, doesn't it?"

Mye sighed deeply. "I guess you're right." She looked up at the sky, which was filling with stars. After a few minutes, she stood up and walked back to Frute. "Okay, let's go. But promise me we'll come back when we're adults, and the war's over."

"I promise." Frute said. Maybe we could advertise a little for the leaders back at Freedom. He thought. He brushed his wing with Mye's, and let her lead the way back to their boat.

The end


End file.
